Recently
Supreme Master Ching Hai made some amazing and insightful comments concerning
the lost books of the Bible. She said, "Transmigration is another word
for reincarnation. It is a very Eastern term. You don't hear it that
often in the Bible, because the Bible is also not always complete, as
all of you know. It has "transmigrated" for 2,000 years or some time,
so some things may be missing there. The true Bible is locked up somewhere
and we are never allowed to see it. But some of the newly-dug from ancient
sites _ the Bible in some part has come out, and some of it mentions
reincarnation." (Supreme Master Ching Hai News #60)
Based
on my exploration of the lost books of the Bible, I find her comments
to be quite accurate. During the last 200 years many ancient Jewish
and Christian documents have been rediscovered in the Middle East. And,
I should mention that some Christians have been curious about apocryphal
scriptures and have preserved some of these "other books" of the Bible
for 2,000 years. Many other interesting collections of psalms, letters
(epistles), gospels and revelations have survived the centuries, even
though only a small number of open-minded seekers have valued their
spiritual wisdom.
I
want to share with you my encounter with the books of the other Bible.
I want to impart to you information about books of mystical poetry,
discourses on gaining enlightenment and other amazing documents which
might be very helpful to you on your spiritual journey. It's time that
this knowledge is revealed so anyone can know how to find the lost or
hidden books of the Bible!
A
long time ago when I was involved in making a major study of the Bible
(the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament), I noticed that Catholic
Bibles contain several additional books that aren't in the Protestant
Bible. These books are called "the Apocrypha" in the Protestant tradition.
Although the original King James Version of 1611 AD did contain these
books, it seems that Protestant Bible societies took them out of the
Bible a couple hundred years ago to make smaller, cheaper Bibles available
to the masses. Today most Protestants think of these disputed books
as "Catholic" but, the truth of the matter is the books of "the Apocrypha"
for millennia have also traditionally been included in the old Bibles
of the Greek Orthodox, Syrian, Russian, Armenian, Egyptian and all other
ancient churches.
Translations
of most of these books were also found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The original Greek translation of the Old Testament made in Alexandria
around 200 BC also included these other books -- books that have now
vanished from the Protestant Bibles in the US!
From
my perspective, the two most interesting books of "the Apocrypha" are
The Wisdom of Solomon and The Wisdom of Sirach -- two very large collections
of proverbs and wise sayings very comparable to the Tao Te Ching by
Lao Tzu. Many people think that the Bible as we know it was put together
by Jesus and the apostles during the 1st century AD but, that's definitely
not so! For a longer period of time than the US has been a country --
for centuries -- the early Church had no such concept as a closed canon
of scripture, a collection of books that they viewed as the "final"
or "only" revelation concerning spiritual matters. Rather, Christians
during that creative period felt free to compose new scriptures, psalms,
odes, proverbs, letters that they felt were inspired, and other documents
of a spiritual nature. This was during the early years when Christianity
had living apostles and saints, and Christianity was a much more supernatural
religion; a mystery religion that put a great deal of emphasis on experiencing
the Kingdom of God, or the spiritual realm.
RIGGING
THE CURRICULUM
Christianity,
like other religions, underwent the process of "mainstreaming" -- settling
down or crystallizing -- into a standardized, organized faith. The mainstream
consciousness came to believe that "the age of the apostles and prophets
was now past." So, since masters and saints (who acted as oracles of
the Divine) were no longer being recognized by the masses, some people
started to look to past masters for guidance. Christianity entered the
stage where the Book became the master, the Book became the guru. The
state church of the Emperor Constantine created a fixed list of books
which would serve for all time as the rule of faith. They also made
lists of books that were to be weeded out of circulation, no longer
to be considered as scripture. This process of canonization and censorship,
for the most part, happened during the fourth century. It was during
this time that most of the "other books" lost their status as scripture.
Only a small number of books made it into the this fourth century Bible
and sadly, many important mystical books were left out.
EXAMPLES
OF DELETED SCRIPTURES
Many
years ago when I was reading the New Testament book of Jude I discovered
an amazing quote -- a quote which opened me up to the other books of
the Bible. Jude, in verse 14 of this short book preserved in the New
Testament, quoted from the book of First Enoch 1:9. He also quoted another
found in the Hebrew scriptures called the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs.
I was amazed to find out about the existence of these other books and
decided that if Jude, during the 1st century, had access to them, then
I wanted to check them out myself! So I started to collect apocryphal
writings once considered to be scripture.
The
term "apocryphal books" has three basic definitions: 1) secret or hidden
writings of an esoteric nature; 2) books not considered inspired by
the church but are, nonetheless uplifting to read; or 3) fictitious
writings or fantastic stories. In existence are hundreds of apocryphal
books representing all three categories. I've tried to collect all of
the available apocryphal writings and have found a number of important
books amongst them that contain absolutely essential spiritual instruction.
The
Books of Enoch were found in some Ethiopian Bibles and among the Dead
Sea Scrolls. They describe the heavenly journeys of Enoch, the prophet,
through the Seven Heavens! Like Hermes Trismegistus of Egypt and the
great Medieval mystic Kabir from India, the Jewish prophet Enoch described
his visions of the higher planes.
THE
ODES OF SOLOMON — NEW TESTAMENT PSALMS
Out
of all the apocryphal writings I've collected, I think the Odes of Solomon
is the most beautiful. It is the would-be book of New Testament psalms!
The Book of the Odes has been described as the first known hymn book
of early Christianity. One scholar said of the Odes, "Here are some
of the most beautiful songs of peace and joy that the world possesses."
Bentley Layton in The Gnostic Scriptures says that the Odes were considered
to be inspired scripture and were chanted by Christians who lived in
Syria and Mesopotamia about 2,000 years ago. A follower of the Unity
School of Christianity published an edition of the Odes a few years
back and created daily affirmations based on this ancient book. These
ecstatic hymns remind me of Sufi love poetry in the tradition of "the
lover and the Beloved". Many have adopted the practice of meditating
upon the Odes and report being brought to a deeper level of devotion
(bhakti); being caught up in a love-affair with God, the Ocean of Love.
That's also been my experience.
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"There
is no hard way where there is a simple heart,
Good thought
finds no wounds,
Nor is
there any storm in the depths of illuminated thought.
Surrounded on every
side by the beauty of the open country,
one is
free of doubt.
Below
is like
above." (from Ode 34)
"Open
your ears, and I shall speak to you;
Give me
yourself, so that I too may give you myself."(Ode 9)
"He filled me with words of truth
that I
may speak the same.
Like
the flow of waters truth flows from my mouth,
and my
lips reveal its harvest,
and
it gives me the gold of knowledge
for the
mouth of the Lord is the true Word
and the
Door of His Light.
And
the highest one gave the Word to His worlds,
which
interpret His own beauty,
recite
His praise,
confess
His thought,
are heralds
of His mind,
are instructors
of His works.
For
the swiftness of the Word is ineffable
and like
His statement are its swiftness and sharpness.
Its
course knows no end,
it never
fails, it stands.
Its descent
and its way are incomprehensible.
Like
His work is its end
for it
is the Light and the dawn of thought,
and through it worlds converse...
The
mouth of the highest one spoke to them
and he
was made clear by His Word.
The
dwelling place of the Word is man
and its
truth is love." (Ode 12)
The
Book of Odes even contains some passages which describe the feminine
aspect of the Godhead! "
I rested
on the Spirit of the Lord and She lifted me up to heaven,"
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THE
GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARY MAGDALENE
The
Gospel of Mary was one of the ancient books found in 1945 near Nag Hammadi,
Egypt. The preeminence of Mary Magdalene in this Gospel gives one example
of the leadership roles of women in early Christianity. Mary is described
as an apostle, equal in every way to the twelve apostles and part of
the inner circle of Jesus. But more than that, Mary was a kind of spiritual
successor to Christ, taking over His role as the spiritual teacher of
the other disciples. In every way, the text affirms that her leadership
of the other disciples is based upon superior spiritual understanding.
As
a recipient of the secret teachings of the resurrected Christ, Mary,
in her Gospel teaches the other disciples spiritual knowledge and gives
detailed accounts of her visions and travels through the higher planes
or heavens accompanied by the radiant form of her Master, the resurrected
Christ. She relays to the other disciples the spiritual instructions,
the words of Christ that she heard during these encounters, which probably
took place during times of deep prayer -- long periods of meditation.
THE
ACTS OF PAUL AND THECLA
Speaking
of women apostles and saints in early Christianity: The Acts of Paul
and Thecla, is the record of the life and times of Thecla, a follower
of Saint Paul, the apostle. This book is brimming with accounts of many
supernatural and miraculous events during the life of Thecla, very much
calling to mind the Desert Fathers and Mothers of Egypt.
This
book describes Thecla as "an apostle of God," who, sometimes traveled
and at other times lived a monastic life in a cave. She was also a spiritual
leader and teacher who instructed people "in the oracles of God". The
text records that "many of them abandoned this world, and lead a monastic
life with her." She was so highly esteemed that a temple was erected
and dedicated to her!
THE
BOOK OF PISTIS SOPHIA (FAITH-WISDOM)
After
studying the four Gospels of the New Testament I became very curious
and puzzled about how each of them concluded. Each of them only devotes
a short chapter or two to the teachings and activities of Christ after
the resurrection. Logically, wouldn't you think that if someone rises
from the dead, that this would immediately become the central, electrifying
event that becomes the main focus, if not the obsession of the writers
to record these events with extreme detail? Wouldn't you think that
the words and deeds of the resurrected Christ would deserve to be the
focus of many chapters, if not entire books? And yet, the New Testament
simply (and cryptically) says that "there were many other things that
Jesus did," and that "He continued to appear to the disciples and instruct
them about the Kingdom of God."
Apparently
the post-resurrection teachings of Christ were regarded by the disciples
as private or advanced, meant only for those followers who were ready
for a deeper commitment to contemplation and the spiritual journey.
Though they are more difficult to find, there are other documents that
do contain post-resurrection teachings including: The Book of the Resurrection,
The Gospel of Mary, Gospel of Thomas, Dialogue of the Savior, The Gospel
of James, The Books of Jeu, The Letter of Peter to Philip and The Book
of Pistis Sophia (Faith-Wisdom).
The
largest Gospel ever discovered, Pistis Sophia, was brought to London
from Egypt and purchased in 1772 by A. Askew, a London doctor and collector
of old manuscripts. The book was published and one of its most famous
readers was the great poet-mystic William Blake, who was greatly influenced
by it.
This
text does document that there was a time when some Christians did believe
in the concept of reincarnation and the preexistence of the soul. Like
St. Paul's "Damascus Road experience" recorded in the New Testament,
Christ is said to have appeared to His followers from inside an incredibly
brilliant light and many rays of light. Many interesting dialogues between
Christ and His initiates are recorded in this document -- about eleven
years-worth! Pistis Sophia also contains many beautiful hymns and prayers.
Though reincarnation is mentioned as a reality, the goal of the teachings
was to liberate souls from material captivity, reincarnation, the wheel
of fate and encumbrances of darkness. Ignorance of the spiritual world
was to be replaced with spiritual freedom and souls were given the ability
to travel from Earth to Heaven via the Holy Stream of Light: "Seek,
all of you, after the Light, so that the power of your soul that is
in you may live. Do not cease seeking day or night until you find the
mysteries of the Kingdom of Light, which will purify you, make you into
pure light and lead you into the Kingdom of Light." This inner vision
took place during periods of solitude and contemplation (meditation).
THE
NAG HAMMADI LIBRARY UNEARTHED IN EGYPT!
A
number of ancient mystical books were discovered near the city of Nag
Hammadi in Upper Egypt. This almost 2,000 year old "time capsule" (a
large sealed storage jar containing parchments written in the Coptic
language buried by monks during the fourth century) now known as the
Nag Hammadi Library, has set in motion a spiritual revolution. Buried
under the sands of Egypt for centuries, these censored and forgotten
scriptures from the early years of Gnostic Christianity may impart to
spiritual seekers of today, knowledge of several mystical traditions
that once existed in the West. This ancient library contains spiritual
discourses from Christian, Gnostic, Jewish, Pythagorean, Hermetic and
other spiritual movements. What have been returned to us are the teachings
of various mystics, Gnostics who initiated their students into the "Mysteries
of the Kingdom of Light," and wrote down descriptions of their otherworldly
journeys into inner space. One of the most talked about books of the
Nag Hammadi Library is The Gospel of Thomas, a collection of the spiritual
sayings of Jesus on gaining enlightenment.
SAYINGS
OF JESUS ABOUT THE LIGHT AND SOUND
The
Gospel of Thomas is a "sayings Gospel," a collection of the proverbs
and parables of Christ about discovering the Kingdom of God. The theme
of these sutras of wisdom is that the Supreme Being is Light, our soul
is made of Light, and that by contemplating the Living Light we can
reenter paradise.
In
the Book of Thomas it is recorded that Jesus was a Master who taught
His disciples that "we have come from the Light, from the place where
the Light came into being by itself...there is Light within a person
of Light, and it shines on the whole world;" and "if one is whole, one
will be filled with Light." Also, "He who will drink from my mouth will
become like Me; I myself shall become that person, and the hidden things
will be revealed to that person." The image of drinking from the mouth
of Christ is describing the process of listening to the Sound, Word
or Cosmic Voice of God which transforms the listeners, transporting
them to the higher or hidden realities. The quotes are from The Gospel
of Thomas, Marvin Meyer, published by Harper Collins.
LIGHT
MYSTICISM OF THE GNOSTICS, THEN AND NOW
One
of the central teachings of Gnostic saints was the experience of the
inner Light. In fact, having visions of divine Light is a universal
experience. People around the world in all cultures have recorded visions
of Heaven and encounters with "the Light within". Many have eloquently
described in their sacred texts encounters with Light coming from beyond
the darkness. Many saints and mystics, including those who wrote various
Nag Hammadi texts, describe God or the Supreme Being as a GOD OF ALL-ENCOMPASSING,
PURE, BRILLIANT LIGHT. They also believe that we, as souls (our true
spiritual identity) are "sparks of the Light," that we are, in reality,
"Children of the Light".
The
experience of Light mysticism (seeing inner Light) takes place during
one's time of contemplative prayer, or meditation. "The rays of primordial
Light that illumine purified souls with spiritual knowledge not only
fills them with benediction and luminosity; they also, by means of contemplation
of the inner essences of created things, lead them up to the Noetic
heavens. For this reason Saint Neilos says, "The intellect's proper
state is a noetic height, somewhat resembling the sky's hue, which is
filled with the Light of the Holy Trinity during the time of prayer."
(The Philokalia, Volume IV, writings of Greek Saints, Faber and Faber
Books)
"God
is Light, and in Him there is no darkness." And, "Blessed are the pure
in heart, for they will see God." (The New Testament)
"Understand
what the Great Light is." (Nag Hammadi Library In English, Harper Collins)
"I
AM the Light that is over all things." (Gospel of Thomas)
"Then
we went up to the sixth heaven. And I gazed up on high and saw a great
Light shining down on the sixth heaven." ("The Apocalypse of Paul,"
Nag Nammadi Library In English)
It
says in The Dead Sea Scrolls _ A New Translation, Harper Collins, "From
the Fount of His Knowledge has my Light shot forth; upon His wonders
has my eye gazed."
Also,
"Your Holy Spirit illuminates the dark places of the heart of your servant
with Light like the sun."
Further
to the East, the medieval Saint (Sant) Kabir said, "The light of the
soul is equal to that of sixteen suns."
The
Mandaean Religion of Iraq has many beautiful hymns and prayers to the
Light, and visions of Heaven that often resemble NDEs (modern day near
death accounts): "His Light illuminates and His radiance irradiates
all the worlds, and the divine beings who stand before Him and shine
in their radiance and in the radiance of the Great Light which rests
upon them."
Pistis
Sophia is published by E. J. Brill Books. Enoch, Odes of Solomon and
Thecla are found in The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books
of Eden, Meridian, an imprint of Penguin Books. The Books of Thomas,
Mary, James, and others are found in The Complete Gospels, Polebridge
Press. An excellent anthology of apocrypha that I highly recommend is
The Other Bible, published by Harper Collins! Other good books include:
The New Jerusalem Bible (with the Apocrypha), Doubleday; and, The Nag
Hammadi Library In English, Harper Collins Books.
As
you can see from this brief sampling of apocryphal scriptures, the books
that were left out of the fourth century Bible tended to promote personal
spiritual experience and contemplation. This earlier spiritual tradition
was never fully embraced in the West and that is the reason, in my view,
why these other books were left behind.
Long
ago, a great poet-mystic said, "The god of time (maya) has put a cover
over the teachings of saints and thus concealed them from humanity."
For more information and to receive a free book list of translations of these "lost books" of the Bible, email: James@SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com.
